This invention relates to a rotatable sole plate for attachment to a shoe for assisting the pivoting of the shoe when dancing, and particularly to such a sole plate having an adhesive backing material for easy attachment to an existing shoe.
In many types of dancing, particularly disco dancing which is in vogue today, the dancer must be able to freely rotate on the soles of his shoes. While good quality leather soles facilitate this maneuver to a limited extent, in order to enable the dancer to make multiple turns without the necessity of undue atheletic ability, it is desirable to provide sole plates which effectively reduce the friction between the shoes and the dance floor.
This has been done in the past in several manners. The most simple is the direct attachment of metal plates, such as are used for tap dancing, to the soles of the shoes. However, heretofore this has been done by the use of nails which necessitates that the plates be attached by a person which a certain amount of expertise, such as a shoemaker. Otherwise if the improper type of nails are used, they will either be too long, and protrude into the feet of the user, or wil be too short and not effectively hold the taps in place. Accordingly, the cost of attaching plates of this type to an existing pair of shoes is quite expensive due to the semi-skilled labor involved.
Other types of rotatable plates, having paired rotatable discs, one of which is attachable to the shoes, and the other of which rests on the floor, are well known in the prior art. However, the prior art devices of this kind have attachment problems which are even more severe than with metal taps, thus limiting their acceptance and commercial success as an item for attachment to existing shoes. In addition, the devices of this type previously known have utilized a complex bearing system between the opposed plates thereby causing the pivot device itself to be far too expensive and subject to malfunction to be acceptble for the intended use.
The subject invention on the other hand, provides simple, inexpensive friction means which interfaces paired cylindrical discs to provide the aforesaid operation. In addition the uppermost disc is provided with a thin double-backed adhesive membrane which is attached on one of its sides to the upper disc and is covered on its other side by a removable covering. Accordingly, by removing the covering from the adhesive membrane the device can readily be attached to the sole of the shoe.
In one embodiment, the antifriction means comprises low-friction pads which are attached to the inwardly facing faces of the respective discs and the discs are attached to one another rotatably by a rivet which is secured through central openings located in the discs.
In another embodiment, a single thin cylindrical plate of low friction material is attached to the adhesive membrane so that the plate can be attached directly to the sole of the shoe by removing the piece of cover material and pressing it in place.
Accordingly, it is a principal objective of the present invention to provide a sole plate for attachment to the sole of a shoe to facilitate rotation of the shoe, wherein the sole plate can be attached to the shoe in an inexpensive manner without the necessity of skilled labor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a sole plate wherein the means for reducing friction between the shoe and the floor is of simple low cost construction for ease of operation and long life.
The foregoing objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.